Conveyer for the feeding of cigarettes or other rod shaped articles



Sept. 1941- F. F. RUAU 2,256,598

CONVEYER FOR THE FEEDING OF CIGARETTES OR OTHER ROD SHAPED ARTICLES Filed April 17, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l \QII/IIIIIIIIIIM F. F. RUAU Sept. 23, 1941.

CONVEYER FOR THE FEEDING OF CIGARETTES OR OTHER ROD SHAPED ARTICLES Filed April 17, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fiwwnEor ,3 2% WWW rina.

Patented Sept. 23, 1941 CONVEYER FOR T l-IE2 FEEDING OF CIGA- RETTES OR OTHER ROD: SHABED.ARTIF- CLES FlixErTdi'ic Ruau, Deptford, London, England;. assignor to Molins Machine Company; Limited;

London, En land Application-April 17,

ImGreatBr-it 13 Claims;

This invention is for improvements in or re.- lating-to conveyers for: the feeding of cigarettesor other: rod shaped: articles; and: it is an object of: the invention to; provide: means whereby such. articlesmay be. takenn from a source of" supply and deliveredv to: a* position or. to". a; receptacle for further. treatment.

For example, the invention may be. employed.

tion. of; the produce of the machine and it. is

sometimes. customaryto select single cigarettes at intervals'and weigh them; individually in order to keep close control over the perfo-rmanceofthe It is therefore necessary to provide machine. means whereby. single .cigarettesmay. be abstracted. periodically. from: the cigarettes produced by the machine, and various devicesfincludin'gisuc tion devices have been proposed forithis purpose. It will be. clearthat'ithelgreater. the proportion of. the cigarettesproduc'ed?which arerteste'd; the: more accurate will be therecord ofthevmachines performance and this: in turn'involves' rapid se lection'i and weighingz'cf; thetest cigarettes:

The. cigarettes produced onza continuous rod machine are delivered on to a travelling band known; as the catcher band on; which they are transversely disposed. and: it. is: convenientto remove. the cigarettesto be Weighed f'romi this band so that after weighing they may be returned thereto if'desired: I'f the rem'ova'l of cigarettesfrom: the bandis .efiectediby a rotaryisuc tion: device, for examplei'ai drum, which has suc-- ticn' apertures: onitstperiphery, it: is sometimes found: that: two: cigarett'es Will clingl to asingle aperture; and thus. the proper functioning of the Wei ghin g. apparatus cwillib'efhindered."

According: to one. form of" the present inventionthere is: provided a. suction device for removing: single; articlesifrom arow. lying transversely to.: their; direction; of movement,- comprising a movableanczzles adapted to move above and near to the: articles to: abstract an article'- from the row, said. nozzle having; a: suction aperture so disposed. that; at: the moment when the" article is: taken" up; the. aperture is facing substantially:

According: to. another form of the; present in-- vention: there: is provided? a suction device for:

removing. single articles from-- a row 'oftrans- 1940, Serial No. 330,229 ain April 26,1939.-

versely moving articles comprising a movable ticlesyarid topick up an article from the row,

the'latter is'in advance ofthe position of the aperture and is drawn backwardsv into contact therewith.- while a'partit-ion between the aperture andfthe row of articles prevents neighbouring Q articles'from being drawn into contact withthe nozzle.

The nozzlemayv be pivoted or otherwise arranged to swing; through an arc to deliverthe selected cigarette to a weighing or other apparatus but preferably the nozzle is arranged to rotate.- through a circle. Two or morenozzles may be arranged. on a common" carrier rotatablyimounted on aspindle- Further, according: tothe;- invention thereis provided; adevice asset. forth above wherein each nozzle is. provided with avprojectionorlipv at" that; edge which approaches nearest to the travellingrow "of articles; such lip forming a stopor. abutment" which. effectually prevents asecand article from being attracted into; contact withithe nozzle.

One. wayofi carrying theinventioninto efiect will; be described: with reference to. the accompanying: drawirlgs,.which show the invention armrangedi to remove cigarettes: from the catcher biand'oi a1 cigaretteimaking machine and-deliver them: to a weighing. apparatus;

In: thedra-wings:

Figure '1 is a. front elevation.

Figure'Z-i's aplan'of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a suction nozzle.

Figure 4 is a. perspective View of" a modified: fonmiof 'suction'n'ozzle.

Figure 5 is a. perspective: view: of afurther modifiedform of." suction nozzle.

hike. reference numerals refer to like" parts throughout: the" specification and. drawings;

Referring to' the drawings, a carrier'l having t" tw'oiopposed radially projecting arms 2 isrot'atably mounted 'on' a fixed spindle Earranged above andparallelto: the catcher band 4of a cigarette making: machine. The axis. of the spindle is transverse to the direction of'movement of the band.

The spindle 3- and thecarrier'arrns 2 are hollow" and the spindle is connected to a suction pump inot shown) whereby air maybe drawn through apertures in the arms.

nozzle: adapted" to.- move above'and near thear saidmozzle having 8;. suction aperture so disposed i 5; that at the momentuwhenan article is taken up A rotary valve is provided which may; for example, comprise.

ports 26 in the hollow spindle 3 which cause suction to be started and stopped in the suction apertures at any desired points during the revolution of an arm. The spindle 3 thus constitutes both a support and a Valve device. Such constructions are well known and no further description is necessary. Means may be provided for adjusting the cut off point, for instance, by moving the spindle around with respect to the frame 25 so that the cut-ofioccurs earlieror later as desired. Such an adjustment is shown in Figure 1, where the spindle 3 is fastened to the frame by a flange 21 having slots 28.

The arms are substantially rectangular incross-section and each arm has a wall 6 at the end remote from the spindle, which closes the end of the arm. I a

Thus an arm comprises parallel front and back from the lowest position suction may be cut off and the cigarette is then simply supported by the arm which then acts as a mechanical conveyer. At any point after the cut off takes place the cigarette may be removed from the arm, for example, by a movable fork which engages the ends ofthe cigarette which protrude beyond the H width of the arm.

walls and two parallel side walls at right angles 7 to the first pair,

An aperture 1 is made in each arm in one of the side walls and'near to the end of the arm so that in fact the end wall 6 constitutes one boundary, of the aperture. The aperture is rectangular in shape, its depth (i. e. distance measured towards the spindle) being a little less than the diameter of a cigarette, while its length (i. e. as measured in a direction parallel to the spindle) is, say, two-thirds of the length of a cigarette, see Figure 3. 'An abutment 9 may be provided to regulate the area of the aperture. This abutment may be adjustable as shown in Figure 3, where it is attached to the arm 2 by screws passing through slots 29. a

The apertures in the arms are spaced apart by 18 0f and further, the apertures are located in those side walls of the arms which are leading when the device rotates inthe direction of the arrow. If desired, the apertures may comprise small rectangular tubes projecting from said side walls as'shown in Figure '4. The outer edge of each aperture, in the other views, (i. e. the edge adjoining the end wall of an arm) has'a small projecting lip 8 which constitutes an extension of such edge. 9

As viewed in a direction parallel to the plane of the aperture the lip is substantially triangular in shape-see Figure 3, with its apex in the middle'of the aperture length. The apex may extend say beyond the aperture plane and the angular sides extend from the apex to the aperture plane at points near to the side edges of the aperture.

A suitable arrangement is shown in Figures 1 and 2, where a conveyer I I consisting of a pair of discsl2 spaced apart on a common rotatable spindle i3 is used to deliver the cigarettes to a pan M of a weighing device l5. The pan comprises a pair of flexible prongs it between which the'discs l2 are movable. and the parts are so arranged that a cigarette I?) carried by the discs ashereafter described may be delivered into the.

pan so that the back of the pan and the flexible prongs respectively contact with the periphery of the cigarette ID as shown in Figure 1. The discs are each provided with two prongs I1 and 18 on their edges, the prongs being spaced apart on the circumference of the disc as shown, and

- the prong i3 is shorter than the other prong I1.

Preferably the lip is curved as I away from the spindle than does the base of the triangular extension.

In the operation of the device the carrier is rotated so that an arm passing near to the travelling band is moving in the same direction as the band but at a lower speed.

Thus the cigarettes ion the band, which travels in the direction of the arrow, Figure 1, move beneath the arm and overtake the same. When a cigarette has passed a little beyond the arm and the end of the latter is at its lowest position (i; e. when the plane of the aperture is substantially normal to the band 4) such cigarette will come'underthe influence of the suction through the aperture and will rise and cling to the aper The two discs are fixed on the spindle 13 with theirprongs in alignment. The shorter pair of prongs l8 constitute conveying means whereby a cigarette delivered on to the edges of the discs by a suction nozzle may be retained in position thereon and moved around with the discs.

In operation the discs are rotated in timed relationship with the carrier l and a cigarette is fed on to the short prongs at each half revolution of said carrier.

A cigarette is transferred from a nozzle to the conveyer H at about the'position indicated by the reference A, Figure 1. At this position the prongs 13 of the conveyer which are moving at a slightly greater speed than the nozzle overtake the latter and lift the cigarette therefrom. The suction is out off by the aforementioned valve at or before this time. A pair of guides l9 shield the conveyer and prevent accidental displacement of a cigarette carried by the prongs.

The longer pair of prongs I? are leading as the discs [2 rotate and consequently as they move between the prongsv it of the scale pan they positively move any cigarette in such pan out of the bottom thereof, the prongsof the pan bending under the pressure exerted by the prongs l1 away from the back of the pan to allow this. While this movement is taking place the short pair of prongs deliver another cigarette, as described below, into'the pan where it is retained for weighing by the flexible prongs I 6 which move inwards again as soon as the first cigarette has passed out of the bottom of the pan.

In order to facilitate the entry of the cigarette into the pan a pair of fixed guides 20 are arranged near the delivery position. The cigarette eventually engages the guides and rolls down them or is urged to do so by the prongs l8. As the pan may be moving during this operation, further guides 2| in the form of upstanding projections 'on the back of the pan are provided to control the path of the cigarette. The guides i251 continue downwards and-in conjunction with a pivoted flap 22 form a passage to guide weighed and discharged cigarettes back to the catcher band 4. 'The conveyer l I and carrier l are driven in timed relationship by a gear 23 on the spindle 13 which meshes with-a gearLZA on :the carrier I. The spindle i3 is driven from the weighing apparatus, which is a mechanically operated device.

Although the invention has been described with reference ;to the removal of cigarettes from atravelling band, it will beclearthat it isadaptable to other arrangements, for instance, the cigarettes might be conveyed on a fluted wheel as is common :in .the art.

What I claim as my invention and desireto secure .by Letters. Patent is:

1. A device for removing singlearticles from a moving row in which the articles lie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle :being mounted for movement in a fixed path located above said conveyer and at a distance therefrom which is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, and means to move the nozzle in a manner such that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle has a component of movement in the direction a of movement of the conveyer and the suction aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer,

2. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which the articles lie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row-of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for movement in a fixed path located above said conveyer and at'a distance therefrom which is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, means to move the nozzle in a manner such that when an article is-removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle has a component of movement in the direction of movement of the conveyer and the suction aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, whereby an article from a row on the conveyer is drawn backwards into contact with the nozzle, and a partition between said aperture and the conveyer to prevent neighbouring articles from being drawn into contact with thenozzle.

3. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which the articles lie transversely 1 to their 'directionof movement, comprisinga conveyor for a row of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for rotation on an axis substantially normal to the direction of movement of said conveyer and at a distance therefrom such that when the nozzle is nearest the conveyer the distance between the nozzle and the conveyor is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, said suction aperture :being so disposed in the nozzle that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, and means to effect rotation of the nozzle.

4. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which the articles lie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for-rotation on: an :axis substantially normal to the-direction: of: movement. .of said .conveyerland at a distancetherefrom such thatlwhen the nozzle is nearest the conveyer the-distance between the nozzle.and 'thenconveyer is slightly greater than the 'heightot a row of articles on the-conveyer,said :suction aperture being-so disposed in thexnozzle that :when an. article is removed thereby from the conveyer the aperture vfaces substantiallyin thesdirection of movement :of the conveyer, wherebywanuarticle fromna row .on the conveyer isdrawn backwards into contact with the nozzla meansto effect rotation .of the nozzle, and a partition between said aperture-and the conveyer to prevent neighbouring articles from being drawn into contact 'with the nozzle.

5. A'device forremoving-single articles from a-moving row iniwhich the'articles lie :transversely to their direction -of movement, comprisinga conveyer-tor a row of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for movement in a fixed path located above said conveyer and at a distance therefrom which is 'slightly greaterthan the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, means to move the nozzle in-a manner such that when an articleis removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle has a component of movement in the direction of :movementof the :conveyer and the suction aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, and a projection extending fromthat -face of the-nozzle which approaches nearest to a row -of-articles on the conveyer, said projection Iorming-a stopto prevent more than one article trombeing drawn into contact with the nozzle.

6. A device for removing singlearticles from a moving row in which the articles 'lie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyerfor a row O'f-articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, saidnozzle being mounted for rotation on an axis-substantially normal to the direction of movement of said conveyer and at a distance therefrom such-that when the nozzle is :nearest the conveyer the distance between the nozzle and the conveyer is'sl-ightly greater than the height of a-row-of-articles on the convey-er, saidsuction aperture being'so disposed in the nozzle that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, means to effect rotation of the nozzle, 'and a'pro'jection ex-tending from that face of the nozzle which approaches nearest toa row of articles on the conveyer,- said projection forming a stopto prevent more than one article from being drawn into'contact with the nozzle.

7. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which 'the'articles 1ie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row of articles, a'nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle'being mounted for movement in a fixed path located above said conveyer-and at adiSta-nce therefrom which is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, means'to move the nozzle in a manner such that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle has a component of movement in the direction of movement of the conveyer and the suction aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, and a movable abutment on said nozzle to regulate the area of said aperture.

8. A device for removing single articles from a moving rowfinwhich the articles lie trans-'v versely to their direction: of. movement, comprisinga conveyer for a row of articles, a nozzle having a. suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for movement in a -fixed path located V 'vent more than one article from being drawn into contact with the nozzle, and a movable abutment'on said nozzle at a position between said projection and the axis of rotation of the nozzle to regulate the area of said aperture. I V

9. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which thearticles lie transversely ,to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for movement ina fixed pa'th located abovesaid conveyerand at a distance therefrom which is-slightly'greater. than the height of a rowof articles on the conveyer, means to move thenozzle in a manner such that when an arti cle is removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle hasajcomponent of movement in the direction of movement of the conveyer and the suction aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, means to cut off suction from said nozzle, and a transfer conveyer to remove an article from the nozzle.

10, A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which the arti'cles'lie trans versely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row of articles,'a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for movement in a fixed path located above said conveyer and at a distance therefrom which is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, means to move the nozzle in a manner such that when an article is'removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle has a component of movement in the direction of movement of. theconveyer and the suction-aperture faces substantially in the direction'of movement of the conveyer whereby an article. from a row on the conveyer is drawn v backwards into contact with the nozzle, a partition between said aperture and the conveyer to prevent neighbouring articles from being drawn into contact-withthe nozzle, means to cut off suction from said nozzle, and a transfer con Veyer to remove an'article from the nozzle.

11. A device-for removing single articles from a moving row inwhich the articles lie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a row-of articles, a nozzle having a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for rotation on an axis substantially normal to the direction of movement of said conveyer and at a distance therefrom such that When the nozzle is nearest the conveyer the dis:

tance between the nozzleand the conveyer is slightly greater than theheight of a row of articles on the conveyer, saidsuctionaperture being so disposed in the nozzle that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, means to effect rotation of the nozzle, means to cut oifsuction from said nozzle, and a transfer conveyer to remove an article from the nozzle.

12. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which thearticles lie transversely to their direction of movement, comprising a conveyer for a'row o'farticles, a nozzle havingv a suction aperture, said nozzle being mounted for rotation on an'axis substantially normal to the direction of movement of' said conveyer and at a distance therefrom such that When the nozzle is nearest the conveyer the dis tance between the nozzle and'theconveyer ,is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, said suction aperture being so disposed in the nozzle that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the aperture faces substantially in the direction of movement of the conveyer, means to effect rotation of thenozzle, a projection extending from that face of the nozzle which approaches nearest to a row of articles on the conveyer, said projection forming a stop to prevent more than one article from being drawn into contact with the nozzle, means to cut off suction from said nozzle, and a transfer conveyer to; remove an article from the nozzle. 7

13. A device for removing single articles from a moving row in which the articles lie transversely to their direction of movement, com: prising a conveyer for a row of articles, a nozzle having a suctionaperture, said nozzle being mounted for movement in a fixed path located above said conveyer and at a distance therefrom which is slightly greater than the height of a row of articles on the conveyer, means to move the nozzle in a manner such that when an article is removed thereby from the conveyer the nozzle has a component of movement in the direction of movement of the conveyer and the suction aperture faces substantially in the 'direction of movement of the conveyer, a projection extending from that face of the nozzle which approaches nearest to a row of articles on the conveyer, said projection forming a stop to prevent morethan one article from being drawn into contact with the nozzle, amovable abutment on said nozzle at a position between said projection and the axis of rotation of the nozzle to regulate the area of said aperture, means to cut off suction from said nozzle, and a transfer conveyer to remove an article from the nozzle.

FELIX FREDERIC RUAU. 

